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Thursday, September 9, 2010

True Love

Ahh, a wonderful subject, we all love, love. We dream of it and hope one day that we will find that perfect one who will make our lives complete. It is one of the passionate pursuits of our lives to find love and thereby achieve fulfillment, or so we think. Love and hate are the two strongest emotions we possess. They operate on the opposite side of the spectrum, where love equals completeness, hate equals retribution and justice.

How is it that these two strong emotions live within one body? How can someone whose love is so strong turn to hate so quickly. Anyone who has experienced rejection from someone they have loved deeply, sacrificed for and built their life on, knows how quickly the pendulum swings. What’s funny this is how some people think about God’s love for us.

I have recently had to rethink my definition of true love. Although I have the impression defined in me everyday since birth; first by my parents, family and friends, but sometimes the definition becomes clouded or unclear in my heart and mind. Our fleshly love is fickle, we love one thing one day and another day we wonder what we were thinking? It is constantly changing in parameters and degrees.

I am grateful that the Lord did not leave us to define love on our own, but constantly reminds of his unchanging love. So what is True Love? 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes it this way, “Love is patient, kind, is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable and keeps no record when it’s wronged. It’s never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.”

Whenever I review the true definition of love, that is described so beautifully here, I realize that my definition falls short. I know that this is how the Lord responds to me, and I am so thankful that he does. I can not say that I respond to every situation I encounter in life with this kind of love, but it is my deepest desire to develop it.

The Lord’s love for us is not fickle and it does not change depending on what we do or don’t do. His love is stable and a sure foundation on which we can grow in. There is nothing we can do to stop him from loving us and pursuing us, he never gives up!

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though some might be willing to die for a person who is exceptionally good. But God showed us his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s judgment.” (Romans 5: 6-9 NLT)

You can not truly love someone until you are loved. We can not fully understand God’s great love for us, but his actions showed us the depth. Have you received his unconditional love? He is the perfect one we are seeking, the only one who will make our lives complete. It is a gift beyond all comprehension of how a Righteous and Holy God would make a way for his enemy to become the object of his affections, instead of his wrath. God’s love for us is our source strength, courage and faith.

“This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (1 John 4:10 NLT)